Resource Efficiency

Companies implement numerous measures to reduce the use of materials and energy in order to increase the resource efficiency. Resource efficiency has to be assessed over the whole lifecycle of a product. Therefore, an approach is requested which assesses the impacts of measures on the production and the use phase of a product.

The current discussion on sustainability lacks a firm foundation on a clear and unambiguous definition of this pivotal concept. This impedes a concentrated discussion among scientists as well as politicians and managers on a subject-matter concerning the future of mankind. It gives room for hollow commitments of companies claiming publicly to be „green“. The article therefore starts by proposing a clear and unambiguous definition which can fill this gap. Based on this preliminary work the author argues that logistics cannot become sustainable if it remains in a position where it only has to ensure the demands of other departments’ means (especially those of marketing) thus neglecting fundamental interdependencies. Logisticians often claim systems thinking as the dominant perspective of their work. Based on a practical example the author shows that systems thinking can only work as a door opener to sustainability if it is applied to the company as a whole.

Over the last decades, the cement industries achieved significant efficiency enhancements in their production processes. The so-called “co-processing”, the use of waste as a source of energy and raw material, was found to be both ecologically and economically beneficial. Cement plants can partially replace all fossil fuels by alternative ones and thus achieve significant reduction of cost and carbon footprint. Yet, in this context special challenges regarding supply chain management emerge. While respecting goals like quality, cost and delivery reliability, changing conditions need to be considered. Examples may be new regulations and the question of waste availability at nearby located industries as well as the desire to engage in long-term supply relationships. This article shows the relevant interrelations and presents approaches in order to contribute to a more efficient development of these supply chain relationships.

These days, even the most enlightened consumer of raw materials is no longer in a position to be able to know exactly how much is used personally on a daily basis despite being included in the development of regional projects. The potential for conflict is guaranteed. This is still more the case as far as providing industrial states with raw materials is concerned and when suppliers acquire raw materials in emerging economies. A look at the current mass movements between the continents and Austria shows the extent of present individual usage as well as the dependence on exporters frequently located in much fought over fossil rich regions. Canada, China and Australia are current primary participants in the distribution struggle going on in Africa, South America and Asia. Thus, the struggle is being defined by those countries in which raw materials play an important role in any case while Europe stands back assuming a stance of polite restraint and hopes that the supply will continue.

The energy used in production moves more and more into the focus of optimization efforts. It is important to consider the processes in production. The energy value stream mapping method is to bridge the gap between the value stream mapping optimization of material flow with the use of resources and energy demand. Under the expert guidance the production is shown in a snapshot. With the help of defined types of waste and design guidelines the production is quickly been analyzed and optimized. Results are numerous measures that can often be realized easily and with little effort. Energy savings of 10,000 EUR and more are opened up so quickly.

In many industries the success of companies depends on efficient and sustainable processes: In which way higher output can be achieved by less resource consumption? Many process optimization projects improve single processes but not the whole process chain. Thus a high amount of potentials of resource efficiency are unutilized in manufacturing. For realising enormous achievements energy and resource efficiency have to be integrated into the optimization process.

The key phrase “Product responsibility” comes more and more often to the fore in the legislation of the European Union. In the near future manufacturers of energy-using products will have to take responsibility for the environmental impacts during the entire life cycle of their products, i.e. from material production and the manufacturing through the use until the disposal. For the analysis of this environmental impacts a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), based on ISO 14040ff derivatives, is used. It is scientifically acknowledged and ecologically established. LCA contains all energy and material consumptions as well as the emissions of each process in the product’s life cycle. By technical products, a data collection develops to a very complex and time-consuming task within the life cycle assessment. This is the so called is inventory analysis of the life cycle assessment. This article presents a reference model, which will be used for the modeling of the life cycle processes and ...